Bangladesh has launched its first and open digital marketplace ‘Food for Nation’ in wanting to connect farmers and consumers, ensuring emergency food delivery across the country amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The mobile phone-friendly interface aims to collect agriculture products directly from the farmers to ensure a fair price and a demand-driven distribution of those products.

The platform will help farmers and consumers alleviate the risk of infection and other problems they face in kitchen markets, Agricultural Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque said after launching the online marketplace in a virtual press conference on Saturday.

“The outbreak has disrupted transportation and marketing of agricultural products, vegetables and seasonal fruits. The farmers are having problems selling their products in time and sometimes they do not get a fair price. The initiative aims to ease the process of the food delivery chain,” the minister said.

He expected the move to help in tackling new challenges in management and distribution of food and agricultural products during the crisis.

“This open digital platform will create a bridge between farmers and all relevant distributors, traders and consumers,” State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak said.

He hopes the initiative will play an important role in modernisation, commercialisation and transportation in Bangladesh’s agriculture sector.

The farmers will be able to sell their products using the platform’s union-level centres in every district. Around 12,000 volunteers are working with the platform to distribute the products safely, Palak said.

The platform will be used to buy, sell or advertise agricultural products for free, officials said.

Farmers, traders, warehouse owners, distributors and institutional consumers will be available in the interface thanks to the network of e-commerce platform ‘Ekshop’.

They can check the prices and quality with those of other farmers on the platform, the statement said.